Pike County recognizes probation, parole staff

The Pike County Court joins Gov. Tom Corbett in proclaiming the week of July 13 as Probation and Parole Supervision Week, honoring efforts of local probation officers.

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By Staff report

poconorecord.com

By Staff report

Posted Jul. 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Staff report

Posted Jul. 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

The Pike County Court joins Gov. Tom Corbett in proclaiming the week of July 13 as Probation and Parole Supervision Week, honoring efforts of local probation officers.

President Judge Joseph Kameen outlined the statistics and duties of Pike County probation officers. It is not unusual, Kameen said, for a probation officer to be threatened or assaulted by a defendant.

There were 123 defendants found in violation of their conditions of parole. The majority of these were related to drug use, he said.

The Probation Office also has 1,027 defendants who are in active payment of fines, costs, fees and restitution as a result of criminal activity. The probation office collects more than $1 million a year in various fees related to criminal cases. This money is paid to local or state government or to victims as restitution for their losses.

In addition, there are 133 defendants who were prosecuted in Pike County Court but were sentenced to state prison and are now supervised by the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole.

The local Probation Office must do all the work related to those matters and provide that information to the State Board of Probation and Parole.

These are only adult defendants. Pike Probation also has a juvenile division that handles all juvenile cases in Pike, and a domestic relations division that handles thousands of child support cases annually, including conducting support conferences, attending all court hearings and prosecuting support contempts for nonpayment of child support.

The number of probation responsibilities in 2013 was the highest yet in Pike County. Kameen predicts the numbers for 2014 will be even higher.